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whalesharkandme's review against another edition
3.0
While I am not one to read the end of the book I found I had to with this one. I am happy I did or I may have never finished it.
erinmp's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not entirely sure why, but I loved this book. I was immediately attached to the main character, Perry (who is NOT retarded, just slow). Perry, as mentioned, is not retarded, and he has a life he enjoys: working at the the shop, living with his grandma, hangind out with his best friend. His family is a bunch of assholes--his mother ignores him, his father is not around at all (Perry assumes he's dead--we find out for sure much later in the book), and his stuck-up, money-obsessed brothers make him call them cousin-brothers because they don't want to be associated with him. Perry and his grandma have a list, a list of who Perry is to listen to. And aside from grandma, there's not a family member on it. Then Perry's gram dies, and no one except Perry and his best friend seem to care. The family immediately shows up and starts claiming anything of value, trick Perry into giving up his rights to the house, sell it, then give him $500 from the sale. Thankfully Perry's boss gives him the use of the apartment above the store so he at last has a place to live. Then Perry wins the lottery. The $12 million lottery. And then, of course, things start to get complicated.
I loved the character of Perry and fiercely hated his family, and I think that's why I loved this book so much, I really got into the story and Perry's life. It's written from the perspective of Perry, so the language is simple, but I think that just connects the reader to Perry more. I really didn't care too much for the ending--it was a little too happy and wrapped up nicely for me. I can overlook that, however, in favor of the rest of the book.
I loved the character of Perry and fiercely hated his family, and I think that's why I loved this book so much, I really got into the story and Perry's life. It's written from the perspective of Perry, so the language is simple, but I think that just connects the reader to Perry more. I really didn't care too much for the ending--it was a little too happy and wrapped up nicely for me. I can overlook that, however, in favor of the rest of the book.
pjvana's review against another edition
3.0
This is a fun book with a lot of comic relief. There are, unfortunately, lots of stereotypical characters- Wisecracking Grandma, Gruff alcoholic with a heart of gold, sleazy lawyers etc.... But, told from Perry's POV ( "I am slow, my number is 76 which is not retarded, retarded is 75") it is a book that's tough to put down. I listened to the audio book, read by Paul Michael - just beautifully done!
marie_gg's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this story of a developmentally disabled man (Perry) who lives in Everett, WA, working at a boating supply store and living with his "gram." His parents abandoned him as a baby and his grandparents raised him.
His beloved gram dies, and he's on his own. He has a small circle of friends and coworkers, but no support from his blood-sucking family members. Then he wins the lottery. Suddenly everyone comes out of the woodwork, wants to be his friend, and needs his help.
The author, who lives on a sailboat off the coast of Oahu and is working toward her Ph.D. in disability studies, has some first-hand experience of lottery winners because her dad won the Washington lottery.
Perry hates it when people call him "retarded," because he beat the retarded level by 1 point. He prefers the term "slow."
When I was in high school, I knew a borderline mentally retarded boy named Hank. I couldn't get him out of my head while I was reading this book, and although I was never mean to kids who were different, I now regret that I wasn't nicer to Hank.
Sometimes being so close to "normal" is much more difficult for individuals to bear than being severely disabled...because they want so much to be like everyone else and clearly see their differences. This book humanely explored the world from Perry's perspective and beautifully displayed his humanity and intelligence.
Here is a quote from the book, which sums up this story:
"Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius."
— Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
His beloved gram dies, and he's on his own. He has a small circle of friends and coworkers, but no support from his blood-sucking family members. Then he wins the lottery. Suddenly everyone comes out of the woodwork, wants to be his friend, and needs his help.
The author, who lives on a sailboat off the coast of Oahu and is working toward her Ph.D. in disability studies, has some first-hand experience of lottery winners because her dad won the Washington lottery.
Perry hates it when people call him "retarded," because he beat the retarded level by 1 point. He prefers the term "slow."
When I was in high school, I knew a borderline mentally retarded boy named Hank. I couldn't get him out of my head while I was reading this book, and although I was never mean to kids who were different, I now regret that I wasn't nicer to Hank.
Sometimes being so close to "normal" is much more difficult for individuals to bear than being severely disabled...because they want so much to be like everyone else and clearly see their differences. This book humanely explored the world from Perry's perspective and beautifully displayed his humanity and intelligence.
Here is a quote from the book, which sums up this story:
"Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius."
— Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
grandma_fix's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! Forest Gump meets I am Sam meets The Rosie Project...GREAT READ!
cpalisa's review against another edition
4.0
Cute book...told from the perspective of Perry - a twenty something, who is slow, not retarded. Perry's middle initial is "L", which he says is for lucky. He is lucky, because he wins the lottery. The story follows him from a few months prior to about a year after. He goes through loss, heartbreak and victory with lots of persistence and a pretty sweet group of friends. His family leaves a bit to be desired. Not a complicated book, but a good story. I liked that it was set in Seattle and I loved that he had such a devoted group of friends to help him navigate life. It is from his perspective, so some of the sentences are a bit clunky but you get used to it as a reader pretty quickly.
mrsfligs's review against another edition
3.0
A Basic Overview
This book tells the story of Perry L. Crandall. (His grandmother tells him the L stands for "Lucky.") Perry has an IQ of 76 -- but he'll be the first to tell you that he "is not retarded." However, much of the world treats his as such. Most of his family has abandoned him except for his grandparents, who raise him. After the death of his grandfather, Perry lives with his grandmother, who does her best to teach him ways to protect himself--spend half, save half; write things down; learn your words; and trust only certain people. Perry has a job and a good friend Keith, who accepts him as he is. He fancies a girl named Cherry who works at the local mini-mart. But things take a turn for the worse when his grandmother dies -- leaving Perry to fend for himself. His family members swoop in and quickly ransack his life and essentially sell his home out from under him -- leaving him on his own to cope. Only Keith and his boss are willing to help Perry rebuild his life, and his family abandons him again. Then one day, Perry wins $12 million in the Washington State Lottery. Suddenly, his family is back -- circling like vultures. But his grandmother has taught him well, and Perry teaches them an important lesson: "Never underestimate Perry L. Crandall."
My Thoughts
I think writing a book from the perspective of a mentally challenged person is difficult. Besides telling the story, the author faces the additional challenge of being true to the narrator's voice. I thought the author did a good job of balancing the childlike qualities inherent in Perry with the narrative elements needed to keep the story moving. For example, because Perry is treated as a simpleton by his family, they speak freely in front of him -- allowing him to recount their conversations and reveal their plans to the reader without Perry understanding what is going on. This device is used throughout the book, and I thought it was effective.
In addition, having the grandmother teach Perry to write things down is another device that allows the author to reveal critical information to the reader. Perry often reads the journals of his life that his grandmother created for him -- allowing the reader to get a glimpse of the family dynamics.
However, for the most part, the book is Perry's account of his life before and after his grandmother's death. As soon as he wins the lottery, I began feeling a sort of dread for him -- knowing that his family would be brutal in their attempts to wrest control of the lottery winnings away from him. One of my only quibbles with the book is that I felt the family members were just a little too black and white (with the possible exception of David who was a bit on the gray side) in their greed and evilness. And the sympathetic characters -- Keith, Cherry and Gary -- are perhaps a bit too nice and good (although the author gives Keith some definite issues to deal with). However, these are relatively minor issues overall.
I liked the choices the author made in the book. I felt she stayed true to Perry's character, and I was happy with the ways she chose to wrap up the story. The quote by Oscar Wilde that she uses at the start of the book -- "Ordinary riches can be stolen: real riches cannot" -- are perhaps the best summary of the basic message of this book. I think most readers will come away from this book feeling uplifted and satisfied.
This book tells the story of Perry L. Crandall. (His grandmother tells him the L stands for "Lucky.") Perry has an IQ of 76 -- but he'll be the first to tell you that he "is not retarded." However, much of the world treats his as such. Most of his family has abandoned him except for his grandparents, who raise him. After the death of his grandfather, Perry lives with his grandmother, who does her best to teach him ways to protect himself--spend half, save half; write things down; learn your words; and trust only certain people. Perry has a job and a good friend Keith, who accepts him as he is. He fancies a girl named Cherry who works at the local mini-mart. But things take a turn for the worse when his grandmother dies -- leaving Perry to fend for himself. His family members swoop in and quickly ransack his life and essentially sell his home out from under him -- leaving him on his own to cope. Only Keith and his boss are willing to help Perry rebuild his life, and his family abandons him again. Then one day, Perry wins $12 million in the Washington State Lottery. Suddenly, his family is back -- circling like vultures. But his grandmother has taught him well, and Perry teaches them an important lesson: "Never underestimate Perry L. Crandall."
My Thoughts
I think writing a book from the perspective of a mentally challenged person is difficult. Besides telling the story, the author faces the additional challenge of being true to the narrator's voice. I thought the author did a good job of balancing the childlike qualities inherent in Perry with the narrative elements needed to keep the story moving. For example, because Perry is treated as a simpleton by his family, they speak freely in front of him -- allowing him to recount their conversations and reveal their plans to the reader without Perry understanding what is going on. This device is used throughout the book, and I thought it was effective.
In addition, having the grandmother teach Perry to write things down is another device that allows the author to reveal critical information to the reader. Perry often reads the journals of his life that his grandmother created for him -- allowing the reader to get a glimpse of the family dynamics.
However, for the most part, the book is Perry's account of his life before and after his grandmother's death. As soon as he wins the lottery, I began feeling a sort of dread for him -- knowing that his family would be brutal in their attempts to wrest control of the lottery winnings away from him. One of my only quibbles with the book is that I felt the family members were just a little too black and white (with the possible exception of David who was a bit on the gray side) in their greed and evilness. And the sympathetic characters -- Keith, Cherry and Gary -- are perhaps a bit too nice and good (although the author gives Keith some definite issues to deal with). However, these are relatively minor issues overall.
I liked the choices the author made in the book. I felt she stayed true to Perry's character, and I was happy with the ways she chose to wrap up the story. The quote by Oscar Wilde that she uses at the start of the book -- "Ordinary riches can be stolen: real riches cannot" -- are perhaps the best summary of the basic message of this book. I think most readers will come away from this book feeling uplifted and satisfied.
millerhj718's review against another edition
3.0
I loved Perry! I was slightly disturbed by the relationship between Cherry and Keith, especially when I realized she wasn't even 18 yet. However, in general, I enjoyed the book very much.
titanic's review against another edition
3.0
3.5.
i was sure this was going to be a five star, but it got boring towards the end :(
i was sure this was going to be a five star, but it got boring towards the end :(